Founder of Rome: A Tale of the Ancient Republic

by Ken Farmer

This is a work of historical fiction and follows the founding of the Roman Republic and its forcible ejection of the corrupt Monarchy. The time of the story is in the 6th century B.C.E, long before that favorite trio of fiction writers of ancient Rome - Julius Caesar, Mark Anthony and Cleopatra - whose actions caused the fall of the Republic.

It is the story of a fictional character but within the framework of the historical record (what little there is) and includes the well known names of that time, including Lucius Junius Brutus and Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus, the first Consuls of the Republic, and Tarquinius Superbus, the overbearing King with the insatiable appetite for conquest.

And of course, the person of Lucretia, the wife of Collatinus - that woman of many romantic myths and tragic tales of that time.

431 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 27, 2015

About the author

I was born in Arkansas, but grew up in Oklahoma and Louisiana. Coming from a reading family, I was introduced to books at an extremely early age and soon had a bookcase full of my own.

I was a child of the dawning electronics age, and after my military service in the Marines I began as an engineer for IBM and saw the birth of the personal computer – a time when a nerd, to use a term that had not yet been invented in today’s context, had to build one with loose parts and a soldering iron.

Somewhere along the many years of college, I dropped the techie's usual distaste of liberal arts and discovered the pleasure of living a fantasy experience by writing historical fiction. Coupled with an intense interest in ancient history, it became my major pastime outside of work.

An Issac Asimov I am not, as he spent all waking hours in typing text, but I give considerable time most weeks in trying to get my characters into - and out of - some actual historical disaster.

And, such is goodsome, even for a man who is no longer a youngling.

Reviews

[John Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not one of his best but, still a good read.

At times this story was somewhat pedestrian, a lot of detail and a lack of action. However, it was a well crafted tale and held my interest throughout the book.

[John McNair · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first I thought this was the best of the three Farmer "Rome" novels I've read, but I found the last third became bogged down terribly in explanations of constructing a ram and assaulting a city in Latium and frankly the story seemed to tail off from that point. It just wasn't as interesting or 'gripping' as the other two. The recipe is the same - a very likeable character who, through good fortune and some heroic deed, raises himself up in society and makes a good life for himself and others. No different here. Some, perhaps, unlikely artistic license taken in certain cultural areas (like having house servants who were not slaves in 140 BCE, as well as hob-nobbling with noble families), but it's all to the good and very enjoyable to read. But the delving into technical matters of little interest to this reader threw me. the book became boring and I put it aside for a bit. However, I will press on the read the other five novels in this series. They're very good books.

[J Sams · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read. Well researched.

A few editing errors aside, the writing was smooth, consistent, and interesting throughout. I respect that the author obviously cares about history and has a real talent humanizing the ancient past.

[Patricia Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I agree with other reviewers that it was painfully slow in places. However, it was interesting to read about this pre-republic era and to encounter the real people of the age. All in all, I enjoyed the book and will read the others in the series.

[russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

I enjoyed the adventure and the fact that the participants of the novel were always finding new challenges and discovering new things.

[Paul Pottinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story.

[randy rabenold · Rating 3 out of 5]

Imaginative though flawed read

Farmer's table of Rome's early republic utilizes too much talk and too little action. His storyline while appealing to American Affinity for rags to riches tales lacks substance and credibility. The most interesting aspect of the almost supernatural Marcus , namely his early bowmaking is left unfinished and lost in weakly conceived final battle scene. Marcus never developes remaining a vehicle to view the early days of the republic's without adding anything to the events surrounding him. Good effort falls flat.